School Start Times

Study of School Start Times

Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) Board passed a resolution
to study changing school start times on October 7, 2014. A School Start
Time Committee has been developed to provide information and research
possibilities.

MCPS sought staff, community and student input. Surveys were
administered in December and a public fourm was held on December 16.
Updates on these outreach activities and updates from committee
meetings can be found by clicking the Committee Meetings button to the
right.

UPDATE: The Potential Schools button now includes all schedules initially considered by the committee.

Why is the school system considering the change?
Theory
and research indicate that starting school later will be beneficial for
the academic achievement and health of teenagers, while the same theory
suggests that elementary students should not be adversely affected by
an earlier start time.

What does the research say?
Findings from
organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers
for Disease Control (CDC), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and
National Sleep Foundation (NSF) conclude that:

Adolescents need about nine hours of sleep per night for optimal academic performance, health, and brain development

Hormones that help regulate sleep
make it difficult for most teens to fall asleep before 11:00 p.m. or to
be alert before 8:00 a.m.

Sleep plays an important role in
learning and memory and sleep debt affects teens' ability to think,
perform and react appropriately

Later high school start times result in adolescents getting more sleep on school nights

Benefits of later school start
times include decreases in teen depression, car crashes, behavior
problems, discipline referrals, absenteeism, tardiness, and dropout
rates.

In contrast, there has been no
conclusive research on the benefits or disadvantages to an earlier start
time for elementary students.

When would a change take place?
If adopted projected implementation would be for the 2015-2016 school year.

When will a decision be made?
The School Start
Time Committee plans to make a recommendation to the Superintendent by
January 20, 2015. The Superintendent will then take her recommendation
to the School Board.

How would schedules change?
Many school systems have flipped schedules so that elementary students start first.
Schedules under consideration are:

Current Schedule

Plan A

Plan B

School Hours

Avg. School Pickup Times

School Hours

Avg. School Pickup Times

School Hours

Avg. School Pickup Times

Elementary

9:00 – 3:30

7:45 – 8:08

7:40 – 2:10

6:30 – 6:55

7:50 – 2:20

6:50 – 7:05

Sec. - Middle

7:40 – 2:25

6:25 - 7:00

8:40 – 3:25

7:25 – 7:48

8:55 – 3:40

7:40 – 7:58

Sec. - High

7:50 – 2:35

6:25 – 7:00

8:40 – 3:25

7:25 – 7:48

8:55 – 3:40

7:40 – 7:58

Is there a cost associated with the change?Either
Plan A or Plan B would cost the division $48,180 in additional bus
driver wages. While there are no additional bus routes, there are
additional driver wages that must be paid. Elementary
schools have a shorter day than secondary schools (6.5 hours versus
6.75 for secondary students). The difference in the school day combined
with a switch in start time, would create an additioanl 15 minutes where
bus drivers are on the road. Bus drivers are hourly employees and any
additional drive time would have to be paid.

Considerations:

Elementary Schedules
To implement later secondary
school start time would elementary students need to begin school
earlier? Yes, the committee is looking at schedules that include earlier
start times of 7:40 or 7:50 for elementary students. This has been
implemented in many divisions. Results reported were primarily positive.

After School Activities/Sports
Would secondary
students have time to participate in jobs, sports and other after school
activities? Research has shown that a delay in start times may reduce
the amount of time available for after school practices. Despite
concerns, most districts that have changed have experienced few
problems.

Before and After School Care
Would the change
result in issues with before and after school child care? The impact
would be family specific. Some families might need less childcare while
others could need additional childcare. Secondary students would be
released after elementary so they would not be home to provide child
care in the afternoon but would instead be available to provide morning
childcare.

Transportation
Montgomery County uses a 2-tier
(elementary and secondary route) bus system for economic efficiency.
Economically it appears impractical to move to a 1-tier system in which
all schools begin at the same time since this would require the purchase
of another fleet of buses. Flipping start times is the most commonly
used option for divisions with tiered bus systems.